Sometimes I feel the urge to blog, even if I havent got anything exciting to blog about. I usually just fight the urge and do something else. This time I have started typing, who knows what my fingers are going to type or what weird place my brain is going to take you... I have no idea, no idea at all. It's Friday afternoon and we have just made banana muffins, I ate one too many and am feeling a bit full. I cant say that they are delicious, cos that would be lying and I dont lie. They are passable, with a cup of tea. I love drinking tea, did you know that? Tea is good. God is good, therefore Tea is God? hmm no not quite. I'm sure God likes tea though.
Im feeling hot and dopey. My head is hot. My head is always hot. I always have a red face. Its embarrassing. Why is this? I wish I knew. Those last couple of sentences feel a bit Dr Seussy. Dr Seuss is strange and genius all at the same time. A bit like me really ;) We are both really random. Never ever at the beginning of this page, when I let my fingers run free did I imagine that i'd be writing about Dr Seuss. This is just wild. Oh gosh, oh gee, what is happening to me???
I had 11 hours of sleep last night, I dont think ive ever slept that long, like EVER! It was amazing. My littlest has started sleeping through, finally, at 3 years old. I'm getting full night sleeps for the first time in 8.5 years, and it's brilliant. Im hoping that now i'm getting sleep that my brain will start functioning again. They say 'use it or loose it' so i'm hoping that the 9 years of not using it hasn't caused too much permanent damage. Sleep deprivation is coming to an end, so I wont be able to blame that on my vagueness anymore, eeekkkk. I want to read and read and gain knowledge. Hopefully now i'll be able to read a book without getting half way through a page and falling asleep :) Oh the possibilities are endless... in saying that, is it bedtime yet???
This is the RAW Bec, the unedited Bec. I got sick of jpeg mode, too perfect.
Ok, i must stop this ridiculous rambling and clean up the muffin mess.
Love to you all dear ones
xxx
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Cos Im Happy
Hello there lovely readers of my blog, welcome, welcome, thankyou for visiting :)
Im feeling very happy today! My heart is soaring!
Ever since I first thought about homeschooling, the thing that freaked me out was the THEAC (Tasmanian Home Education Advisory Council ) home visit! Thinking about it made me stressed.
Yesterday was the day... the day I had been dreading for so long. And surprisingly enough, the moment I saw the lady walk down the driveway my nerves turned to excitement... umm hello... the dreaded visit and i'm bouncing to open the door!?!? I knew the lady years ago, and the first thing she said is, "All morning I was trying to picture what you would look like these days, and you are exactly what Id imagined". Well that set the meeting off well and I didnt shut up for an hour.
She looked through all of Malachi's work, and went through all of his blogs (I had printed them all), she asked Chi questions and wrote lots of notes. She thought he was very animated. He put on a great performance, man I was proud of him!!! He bought things out to show her and even spilled dirt from his worm farm on her! She asked me question about assessment etc etc and then I asked her what Im doing wrong. She smiled and said, "You are doing such a great job." She was so positive, I loved it. I loved that I could tell her about all the positive changes we can see in Malachi, how he isnt angry and sad all the time. How he doesnt have a complete meltdown when he cant spell a word. If nothing else, this year has already been a success just because of that! My boy is so much more confident. My passion came through and after she left I felt so happy, relieved and excited... I just wanted to hug everyone!!!
Im also excited about our future. Some of you know that some stuff went on at Kingborough Family Church and we felt it was time for us to move on. It was a heartbreaking time as it was my church home for 23 years, I loved it with all my heart and gave it my all. It was hard. Id never been so sad in my whole life. I felt like someone had died. I just cried ALOT! I worked through the anger stage and then the sad stage... and along the way we found a new church to call home. I have made some lovely new friends and am serving God in different ways. WE are so excited about the future. I feel like im a part of something so much bigger than me and im just SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! Ive learnt that God is so Good and Faithful and Giver of peace and comfort. God loves you, what ever you are going through HE is there with open arms, nothing is too hard for Him. I just want to tell everyone about how amazing God is, and I WILL!!!
SO this is why im happy:) And the fact that you took the time to read my ramblings also adds to my happiness. Thankyou! Thankyou!
Love you all
Bec xxx
Im feeling very happy today! My heart is soaring!
Ever since I first thought about homeschooling, the thing that freaked me out was the THEAC (Tasmanian Home Education Advisory Council ) home visit! Thinking about it made me stressed.
Yesterday was the day... the day I had been dreading for so long. And surprisingly enough, the moment I saw the lady walk down the driveway my nerves turned to excitement... umm hello... the dreaded visit and i'm bouncing to open the door!?!? I knew the lady years ago, and the first thing she said is, "All morning I was trying to picture what you would look like these days, and you are exactly what Id imagined". Well that set the meeting off well and I didnt shut up for an hour.
She looked through all of Malachi's work, and went through all of his blogs (I had printed them all), she asked Chi questions and wrote lots of notes. She thought he was very animated. He put on a great performance, man I was proud of him!!! He bought things out to show her and even spilled dirt from his worm farm on her! She asked me question about assessment etc etc and then I asked her what Im doing wrong. She smiled and said, "You are doing such a great job." She was so positive, I loved it. I loved that I could tell her about all the positive changes we can see in Malachi, how he isnt angry and sad all the time. How he doesnt have a complete meltdown when he cant spell a word. If nothing else, this year has already been a success just because of that! My boy is so much more confident. My passion came through and after she left I felt so happy, relieved and excited... I just wanted to hug everyone!!!
Im also excited about our future. Some of you know that some stuff went on at Kingborough Family Church and we felt it was time for us to move on. It was a heartbreaking time as it was my church home for 23 years, I loved it with all my heart and gave it my all. It was hard. Id never been so sad in my whole life. I felt like someone had died. I just cried ALOT! I worked through the anger stage and then the sad stage... and along the way we found a new church to call home. I have made some lovely new friends and am serving God in different ways. WE are so excited about the future. I feel like im a part of something so much bigger than me and im just SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! Ive learnt that God is so Good and Faithful and Giver of peace and comfort. God loves you, what ever you are going through HE is there with open arms, nothing is too hard for Him. I just want to tell everyone about how amazing God is, and I WILL!!!
SO this is why im happy:) And the fact that you took the time to read my ramblings also adds to my happiness. Thankyou! Thankyou!
Love you all
Bec xxx
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Toy Honour Session
Each of my children have had that one toy... the one toy that they wont go to bed without, that one toy that if you can't find it, the whole place goes into a panic and search mode.
As my kids are getting older, these toys have become less important. I want to remember these toys, I want to acknowledge them, before they are packed away and stored in a box.
Here is Malachi with Mr Blue, the blue dog. He was a present when he was born from the teachers at Channel Christian School (where I taught at the time). Chi no longer needs Mr Blue around. Thankyou Mr Blue for your service :)
Mattea is holding 'Dolly'. This was given to her at birth by my Auntie Sonya and Nanna. Her first doll and bed buddy :) Dolly has now been retired to the soft toy tub :( Taya also had 'blankie'.
Jazzy is with Max, his yellow and purple teddy. Anastasia gave this to him for his first birthday, because he didn't have a special toy like Malachi and Mattea. Ever since that day, Maxy has slept in bed with Jaz. Thanks max!!! (I have no idea why Jaz called him Max)
Thankyou toys for doing what you do and providing comfort and cuddles for my children.
As my kids are getting older, these toys have become less important. I want to remember these toys, I want to acknowledge them, before they are packed away and stored in a box.
Here is Malachi with Mr Blue, the blue dog. He was a present when he was born from the teachers at Channel Christian School (where I taught at the time). Chi no longer needs Mr Blue around. Thankyou Mr Blue for your service :)
Mattea is holding 'Dolly'. This was given to her at birth by my Auntie Sonya and Nanna. Her first doll and bed buddy :) Dolly has now been retired to the soft toy tub :( Taya also had 'blankie'.
Jazzy is with Max, his yellow and purple teddy. Anastasia gave this to him for his first birthday, because he didn't have a special toy like Malachi and Mattea. Ever since that day, Maxy has slept in bed with Jaz. Thanks max!!! (I have no idea why Jaz called him Max)
Elias and Teddy. Teddy is still very much needed and yes, we regularly search for him at bedtime. If Elias is tired he cuddles teddy on the couch. Another birth gift from Auntie Son, Al and Nanna :) I cant see teddy being out of a job any time soon, phew!!!!
Thankyou toys for doing what you do and providing comfort and cuddles for my children.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Im a homeschooler- We have almost survived Term 1!
Hello Hello.
Here I am, it's been a while since i've blogged.
Ive been busy trying to find the balance between teaching Chi, catching up with friends and getting the housework done... It's a hard gig. I find myself longing for the time when I used to send the kids off and then laze around wasting time for an hour or so... the good old days... ;) Now I rush them out the door and try to get a bit of order to the place before I start teaching Chi... I feel like the clock and I are in a constant battle, i'm trying to slow it down but it just wants to race ahead... tick tock...
BUT I must say that the improvements that I have seen in Chi's confidence make this struggle SO WORTHWHILE!!! He keeps surprising me with his happiness and helpfulness. He looks out for his siblings and has become so much more responsible. His behaviour has improved considerably, he goes to bed happy, looking at books, instead of crying about horrible, hard school! Dont get me wrong, he isnt perfect by any means, but oh so much better. Others have also noticed that he is more confident and holds his head higher, this makes my heart soar.
Academically, I'm slowly seeing improvements. His reading is alot better than it was in week 1... still a long way to go though. I don't need to coax him to read and write as much as I did at the beginning. He still resists alot of the time but doesn't have the total meltdowns that we were seeing.
Almost 1 term in and I'm still absolutely positive that we made the right decision pulling him out of school!! I dread to think where he would be if we hadn't!!!
Thanks to all those people who have commented on his blog and encouraged me along the way... some days a little encouragement goes a long, long way.
Alright, I must go, im writing Chi a message in Greek. Man im LEARNING lots!!!!!!
Love you all xxxx
Here I am, it's been a while since i've blogged.
Ive been busy trying to find the balance between teaching Chi, catching up with friends and getting the housework done... It's a hard gig. I find myself longing for the time when I used to send the kids off and then laze around wasting time for an hour or so... the good old days... ;) Now I rush them out the door and try to get a bit of order to the place before I start teaching Chi... I feel like the clock and I are in a constant battle, i'm trying to slow it down but it just wants to race ahead... tick tock...
BUT I must say that the improvements that I have seen in Chi's confidence make this struggle SO WORTHWHILE!!! He keeps surprising me with his happiness and helpfulness. He looks out for his siblings and has become so much more responsible. His behaviour has improved considerably, he goes to bed happy, looking at books, instead of crying about horrible, hard school! Dont get me wrong, he isnt perfect by any means, but oh so much better. Others have also noticed that he is more confident and holds his head higher, this makes my heart soar.
Academically, I'm slowly seeing improvements. His reading is alot better than it was in week 1... still a long way to go though. I don't need to coax him to read and write as much as I did at the beginning. He still resists alot of the time but doesn't have the total meltdowns that we were seeing.
Almost 1 term in and I'm still absolutely positive that we made the right decision pulling him out of school!! I dread to think where he would be if we hadn't!!!
Thanks to all those people who have commented on his blog and encouraged me along the way... some days a little encouragement goes a long, long way.
Alright, I must go, im writing Chi a message in Greek. Man im LEARNING lots!!!!!!
Love you all xxxx
Friday, February 21, 2014
Im a homeschooler!!!!!
Homeschooling...
Week 3 down and im exhausted! Im sitting here feeling like i've been drugged im that dopey.
I love it and I hate it... an intricate twining of the too. I have cried and I have laughed, I have encouraged and I have been frustrated. My patience has been stretched BIG TIME! No wonder im exhausted!! Do I still think we made the right decision to pull Malachi out of school for a year? Absolutely!
A friend of mine who homeschools once told me that homeschooling was really hard work and didnt recommend it unless you really knew it was what you were supposed to be doing... I shrugged her words off and thought, yeah, of course, but now I REALLY KNOW she was right!!
I am finding Malachi a challenge. He struggles big time with reading and writing and has decided that it is all too hard. I ask him to spell or write a word and he has a meltdown! My challenge is to stay calm and take baby steps... if I stay calm he is more likely to stay calm (sometimes). Although it is a nice break when he runs to his room crying cos it's all too hard and im so mean! I'm learning to accept that he isn't going to get it overnight and any pre-conceived ideas I had about him happily sitting with me, reading and producing all types of masterpieces have all gone flying out the window (for now). Malachi has built a wall, I believe it is a wall to protect his self-worth. It causes him to shut down and not try when it seems too hard. I think he constructed it as a coping mechanism at school and now it is my job to pull it down, stone by stone and restore his confidence. I've learnt I need to encourage him to have a go, to reassure him that it doesnt matter if he gets it wrong, he is allowed to get it wrong. We wont think any less of him if he gets it wrong. He seems to be a bit of a perfectionist, and he would rather not try than get it wrong. It makes me so sad that he is so hard on himself, i just need to love and encourage him through it. In just 3 weeks, my patience has improved and im beginning to discover the learning strategies that work for Chi, and learning what not to say or do in order for him to stay calm and not get angry... we are both learning.
On a positive note, I am loving it! I feel so happy when he reads a word that he couldn't read a few days before. Or he understands something in Maths that he had never understood before... it's these moments that make all the frustrations worth it. He is my boy and he needs help and I can help him, what a privilege.
Week 3 down and im exhausted! Im sitting here feeling like i've been drugged im that dopey.
I love it and I hate it... an intricate twining of the too. I have cried and I have laughed, I have encouraged and I have been frustrated. My patience has been stretched BIG TIME! No wonder im exhausted!! Do I still think we made the right decision to pull Malachi out of school for a year? Absolutely!
A friend of mine who homeschools once told me that homeschooling was really hard work and didnt recommend it unless you really knew it was what you were supposed to be doing... I shrugged her words off and thought, yeah, of course, but now I REALLY KNOW she was right!!
I am finding Malachi a challenge. He struggles big time with reading and writing and has decided that it is all too hard. I ask him to spell or write a word and he has a meltdown! My challenge is to stay calm and take baby steps... if I stay calm he is more likely to stay calm (sometimes). Although it is a nice break when he runs to his room crying cos it's all too hard and im so mean! I'm learning to accept that he isn't going to get it overnight and any pre-conceived ideas I had about him happily sitting with me, reading and producing all types of masterpieces have all gone flying out the window (for now). Malachi has built a wall, I believe it is a wall to protect his self-worth. It causes him to shut down and not try when it seems too hard. I think he constructed it as a coping mechanism at school and now it is my job to pull it down, stone by stone and restore his confidence. I've learnt I need to encourage him to have a go, to reassure him that it doesnt matter if he gets it wrong, he is allowed to get it wrong. We wont think any less of him if he gets it wrong. He seems to be a bit of a perfectionist, and he would rather not try than get it wrong. It makes me so sad that he is so hard on himself, i just need to love and encourage him through it. In just 3 weeks, my patience has improved and im beginning to discover the learning strategies that work for Chi, and learning what not to say or do in order for him to stay calm and not get angry... we are both learning.
On a positive note, I am loving it! I feel so happy when he reads a word that he couldn't read a few days before. Or he understands something in Maths that he had never understood before... it's these moments that make all the frustrations worth it. He is my boy and he needs help and I can help him, what a privilege.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
V Family Shoot
I was lucky enough to be asked to take some family shots for this very cute family.
Here are some of my favorite :)
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
My Soul is well pleased
Sometimes you just need to kick your shoes off and put your feet in the water.
To feel the sand between your toes.
To feel the cold water splashing up your leg.
To smile.
To laugh
To enlighten the senses.
To feel alive.
My kids and I paddled today. Simple moments like these are the happiest. To be fully living in the moment, engaging with the ones most dear to you. To see the joy in their little eyes, to hear their innocent laughter. My soul is well pleased.
Moments like these cause me to connect with my creator, my God. I thank Him for all that he has given to me, my children, the sea and sand... He speaks to my soul. I feel blessed and grateful.
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